TikTok Axes Accounts Tied To Russian Media Over Meddling In U.S. Polls

TikTok has removed accounts associated with two Russian media groups for attempting to exert "covert influence" on the upcoming US presidential election, in violation of its guidelines, Olesya Dmitracova reported for CNN.

This action mirrors a similar move by Meta (META) last week, which banned Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and other related entities from its platforms globally, citing "foreign interference activity." I Photo: Ivan Radic Flickr

The accounts were linked to Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, the organizations behind the Sputnik news agency and the RT broadcaster, respectively, TikTok announced on its website Monday, labeling the groups as "state-affiliated."

This action mirrors a similar move by Meta (META) last week, which banned Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and other related entities from its platforms globally, citing "foreign interference activity."

Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice announced charges against two RT employees for allegedly funneling nearly $10 million into a US company, identified by CNN as Tenet Media, to create and amplify content that aligned with Russian state interests.

The covert influence campaign targeted the American public ahead of the presidential election.

Tenet Media is known for featuring high-profile right-wing, pro-Trump commentators, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, and others. All of them have since released statements claiming they were unaware of the alleged Russian scheme.